The Raccoon City Hospital was normally a quiet one. Despite the explosive population growth in the last few decades, the hospital had been built to handle a larger regional population. It meant that wait times in the Emergency Rooms were quick on normal nights (barring a bus crash), and there were always a supply of beds to go around for the odd broken bone from a suburban slip and fall, or a priviliged kid of a professional suffering their first and only misadventure with drugs.

But not tonight.

It had technically started the night before, in a trickle. A few people coming in, mostly homeless, complaining of the odd wild dog (already getting frighteningly frequent) and the few bites from people who must have been on Meth. They were treated, stitiched up, given antibiotics... and did not get better. The fevers worsened, wounds became septic, faces ashen. And before more than a few conferences could be held on the issue, more came in the afternoon. And then in the evening.

A bespecled man approching middle-age had expected this job to be another one of those good-will missions. Save a few lives, do some pro bono research, and collect more data for the company. He was watching for viral infection... and suspected that it had to be something for one of the other projects. Another branch had been working on countervirals... maybe it was that? Mind wandered. Couldn't afford it. His hands run up to his face, almost tearing at black hair, before straightening his tie and lab coat, shining the Umbrella pin on the lapel. Not now.

Stadler, turned away from the desk, standing in a ward of chaos. "Goddamn it. Slides! There's got to be someone here." He says. Walking by a few nurses. "562? Room 5- is it this way?" One of the more advanced cases. Maybe it would give them a few clues on what was /causing/ this.

There had been quite the uproar over wild dog attacks and homeless bitings. Investigating this case was none other then one William Caldwell, he was watching the hospital begin to get quite packed with patients, this was a big hospital but with the attacks coming in over and over and nobody getting better, this was filling up fast. Caldwell was decked out in full STARS attire should anything go wrong in the hospital. He had various utilities on a belt in case he needed to use them and approaches the good doctor Stadler and looks him up and down, assuming he's in charge by the fact he's ordering the nurses around he asks. "Doctor, what the good god damn is going on here? I thought these people were supposed to get better, not worse! What kind of hospital are you running here?!" he seemed to care quite deeply about the populace and while the look in his eyes detailed he didn't believe he was to blame, he needed something to take his mind off the fact people could very well die due to meth addicts and dog bites. Which was crazy to say the least, rabies were one thing, but what the hell was going on here?

Emma was to have a day off. Two days. Two days of freedom from work! But it didn't happen like that. She got called inas things got worse, and so like many others, there is frantic work. It's a benefit that there is a calm air about her, she weaves her way through people with that dancers grace. Her vivid red hair is put up in a messy bun, strands fall around her. Those green scrubs have some dried blood stains down the front. Emma has been keeping an eye out as well, keeping close tabs on the infected. Making notes. Walking past Stadler she points. "Dow -- down that'a way, sir." Her tone is mildly panicked, ringing with a Scottish accent while doing so. A hurried nurse runs by her, and gets a brief glance.

Benny is also on duty and wearing his full S.T.A.R.S. uniform, in addition some shiny near gear such as a utility belt and an additional pistol (hookshot) that is in a drop down holster on his left leg. He's partnered up with his fellow Charlie team member and newest rookie of the team, William Caldwell. Since they are both fairly new, they got this assignment at the hospital. He is standing beside, William with a professional look on his face and nods politely to anyone who acknowledges him. "Okay, William so what exactly did you have in mind here again? Our assignment from Sergeant Rogers, was to just keep an eye on the place to keep the peace and to note any suspicious injuries or occurrences, then report back." He glances around and notices a very familiar red head who stands out from the crowd. He blinks and gives Emma a shy smile, waving at her when she gets closer, "Hey Emma. How are you? Uh weren't you supposed to be off?"

Stadler walks quickly down the corridor, swallowing and trying to ignore the barely constrained chaos around him. Activity around a lab was exciting. Men and women rushing about, attempting to create the next big thing that would lead to breakthroughs in science, revolutions in medical care. This... this was like being in a bullet train barreling toward a break in the tracks. Frantic activity and desperation that /wasn't solving anything. It's a wonder the fact that he attempts to latch onto the only person that seems to have some direction in her. He moves to try to redirect her. "I'm not going to find it in this mess, and no one else is trying to go higher concept on this. Can you come with me-" He says, before being stopped by someone in what looks to be /full/ SWAT gear. Stadler at first looks confused, then annoyed, and then slightly anger. "Shut up!" He hisses, pulling him away quickly, eyes up. 562. The man inside was comatose, and there weren't enough doctors, nurses, or family to occupy it. Which meant it was quiet and able to contain 4 different people

"First of all, I don't goddamn work here. I work at the Umbrella. I'm a research scientist who studies virii in a petri dish, so don't take out your goddamn frustrations on me. /Second/," He says, pointing outside that door. "There are a lot of scared, frightened people out there, on the edge, on the /bleeding/ edge of things, and the last thing they need is a cop in uniform yelling out how we're not doing anything. And /third/, /I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!/"

That last sentence was a hiss, a miraculously controlled venting of his on frustration, his red face draining of color quickly, hands shaking as the brief burst of aderenline fades. "I don't... know. They come in with mastication. Sometimes animal, sometimes human. Sores and injuries; like necrotizing fasciitis that none of the antibacterials do a damn to. The bodies in a constant shock response. Half of them are in critical ketoacidosis, which doesn't make any sense, because no one's losing /fat/, just /flesh/. /None of it makes any sense./"

William looks over at Benny and shrugs at him "Find out what the hell is going on here is my goal. Anything else is just a side objective. I want to help these people as best as I can and I can't do that unless we know what's happening to them with these attacks." he looks over at the scientist "If a scientist doesn't know what the fuck is going on, what are we supposed to tell these people?" he whispers to Richard and possibly Emma "We can't just say 'Oops, you're going to die, but hey we can use your body to slice open like a watermelon.' " he grunts at Stadler.. "Sorry...I'm just worried about the folks here. They mean a lot to me since I grew up here." he listens in on what the scientist has to say "What the fuck is this infection doing to people then? Just making them look like hideous monsters out of a bad movie? Isn't there /ANYTHING/ we can do for these folks? Anything at all?" he obviously wanted to help as best as he can and the best way was to ask what he should be doing, if the scientist wouldn't tell him he'd take matters into his own hands.

Emma tilts her head, listening to Stadler. She nods a little, moving some hair from her face tiredly. "If -- if ya need me." She says and turns, to see Caldwell and Benny. A smile is given to each, yet her eyes line with worry a little more as things heat up. "Ple - please, gentlemen. Let us nat get all huffy here, huh! We've got some sick people ta tend to." Her tone is calm, she is trying to be the anchor of calmness as freaking out will not help. "We've got -- got sick peole that's goin' on. In fact, we need more guards, tha people will only get worse, we should be atta ready in case." In case of what? There is a slight hint of suggestion to her tone, as if she suspects or guessing at something. Looking to Benny, that look suggests something along the lines of 'I told you hell is coming'

Benny watches the rather, tense exchange between Richard and William with his arms crossed. He glances around, noticing that some of the hospital staff as well as civillians are getting a bit uncomfortable. Uncrossing his arms, he steps in between the scientist and his partner, putting up both his arms with his palms outwards in a gesture of peace. "Woah, lets just tone it down a few notches here." He nods when Emma interjects, trying to keep the peace as well. "Just like miss Emma said, this is a /hospital/ and we don't want to be alarming people who are already stressed out, that need medical attention or their family members and close friends. Okay?" He keeps his voice low and his tone respectful. "Lets just take a few deep breaths and we can continue this discussion in private if necessary." He then looks up at William, motioning for him to calm down. "William, look we are all trying our best to help. Each in our own way and yes, you grew up here and have way closer ties to here than I do but remember, we are S.T.A.R.S. You are a part of a greater whole and right now the people, need to see us be professional and calm, so that they feel safe. Can you do that?"

Stadler's look shows a mix of many things. Exhaustion, fear, frustration, anger. Not aimed at anything in particular, at the moment. Just... at the world around him that seems to be breaking into so many little pieces. "Science isn't like it is in the movies. There isn't a- a sample I can take, pop it in the machine, and tell you what's wrong with them. It takes time, and study, and resources, and we have /none/ of that. None of it. So...so." He says, trailing off. ALmost afraid of what that means. A pause, a shuddering breath, and then a push up of his glasses. "I'm... worried. I'm not a cop, though. I've got worries at home. I don't /know/ what the.. infection is, but I don't think it's bacterial. A lot, but not all, of those who have this are coming in with bites. Dog bites... what looks to be human bites, too. We... look. We may be dealing with a virus. A nasty one, that might have lept from dogs to humans. It's not rabies; we are seeing mental degredation, but that's not /all/ we're seeing. It's... something new. And we don't have a vaccine for it.

"I... people are going to die." He says, quietly. Admitting it to the room, and to the man unconscious in that bed who was probably going to be one of the first ones. "A lot of people. In a few days, we need to start thinking about body disposal. Which... fuck, I don't know how to do, and I don't think anyone in this room works for FEMA. We have to start thinking about Quarentine, the CDC in Atlanta... guards." He says, nodding to Emma... and perhaps not making the connection she is. "This is... this might get very bad. People are going to try to get here, and resources are slim. None. We need to start controlling that. You S.T.A.R.S... I think you need to look for... sources. Tracking it back to what or /who/ started biting people. If we can figure /that/ out, we can track it back to... to whereever it started. Or. You can." He says. And he looks... exceedingly guilty at what he may be about to do.

William looks over at Emma and takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly "You're right...we have to tend to the sick...And in case any of those fuckers trying to bite people show up they're getting a bullet in the ol' noggin." he looks over at Benny and offers a smile, but anyone with half their brain working can see it's forced..heavily. He wasn't prepared for this, he was just a cop, a STARS cop sure, but this wasn't what STARS was trained to deal with, right? At least none of the training he's done has prepared him for city wide infection of an unknown disease. "I know, Benny. I'm gonna keep an eye on people here and try my best to make sure everyone stays safe. I just..need a minute...Ok?" he looks over Stadler and blinks, his world just..shattered at the thought of so many good people dying to this strange new strain of disease. "You're telling me this whole city could go to shit in a matter of days and theres nothing we can do?! There has to be some way to contain this disease, man. We can't just let these people die like this, they have lives, families, friends. We can't just let them rot into nothing but bone." he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "God damn this is horrid..." he looks over to Benny for a brief moment then back at Stadler again "Or we can what? I don't like the odds of finding out the origin of the biter, but if theres nothing else we can do we might as well give it a go."

Sure, Emma is a calm, sweet being. But even such people feel the beginning of Hell. There is a flicker of something across her eyes, a deep seeded fear as Stadler speaks. He is saying even reality she has feared. It takes a few tries, but there are some calming breaths taken to regain focus. Tugging at her dirty scrubs a little, the redheaded lass finally regards the group. "This, this is frightenin', aye." Her tone is as calm as she can manage. Which is pretty calm considering she wants to run. "Let us all take a breath. We must finda spot ta con -- house tha bodies, a safe contained area." She says this to Stadler more so, and then regards Willam and Benny. "Ya two need ta be on high alert, this ain't-- ain't goin' ta get better. Everyone needs ta be on alert, whatever ya do, avoid bein' bit when out there, seems tha.. whatever it is, is transfered that way. Tha game plan should be tryin' go get unaffected out-now-, and containin' tha city. We dun need -- need this going outside tha city limites."

Benny blinks and glances back to Emma, his brain finally processing what is being said and that /look/ she gave him a few moments ago gets that light bulb moment. "Holy shit!" The realization dawning on him of what a complete cluster fuck this is turning into. He pauses for a moment, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he replies, looking at Richard first. "Okay...doctor or science guy, whomever you are. I don't exactly understand everything you just said, but the part about a virus that spreads through bites where we don't have any vaccine or cure sounds very bad. Like George Romero scale bad..." He turns to William and nods. "I hear ya buddy. I would love to just run out there, you and me to fix this but I think the best thing to do now would be to report back to the Sarge, Valentine and commander Wesker about what we just found out. This sounds like we need the bigwigs to decide to initiate emergency protocals, staring with a disaster plan, containment and call in addtional resources. Can you please contact our NCO and brief them." He looks at Emma, "I'm sorry...about all the swearing. You said something about containing the bodies that are already infected. How do we do this and what do you need from us..." He then lowers his voice and nods to her once more, "Your right...I should have listened. I'm sorry."

Richard Stadler looks horrified, for just a moment, at what William says first. "Bullet in the... no! No, these are sick people. We can't just start shooting them just because they don't know what they're doing! They need treatment, or... at least detainment. Until... the... well, whatever, happens, happens." He notes. No one was trained for this. Not a single one, aside of whatever Feds might be wholing up here. "Look around you. All of you, look around. She's right. It's already gotten bad, in just two days, And we can't count on a miracle to think it's going to get better. There's /nothing/ we can do, beyond... stop it from getting too far. We need larger... Christ." He says, stopping. "I... don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm qouting from goddamn outbreak, and half-remembered... Look." He says. "I'm not going to get this right. But... all right. We need a large place to put the bodies. Somewhere cold. Ice rink, maybe. Absenteeism might get bad, so... food. We need to protect food sources." He's thinking, trying to run off of a mental checklist. "So maybe stockpiling. Keep people from leaving the city, yes. No one gets bit. You guys need to report back, talk to someone higher up." He says, nodding to Benny. "Get the feds, the state, the county... whatever. There's protocols for this. We... just need to play this out."

"He pauses. "Sorry, I... sort of dragged you all in here suddenly. Doctor Richard Stadler. I'm a research scientist with Umbrella." Another pause. "Also... Major. Colorado National Guard. I... that's going to be important, soon, I think. I've been here for 14 hours. I'm giving two more, and then I'm running to the office, and running home, before this gets any worse."

Caldwell takes a minute to rub the goosebrumps growing on his arms, did it just get colder in here? This was like something out of a bad horror movie. And it wasn't going to get better anytime soon. William looks over towards Benny and sighs "You're right, we need to report this to whoever can help us with this...I don't think even they can do anything about the crap that's gonna go down soon." he notices that Emma isn't a fan of the swearing either and tries to tone it down just a bit, but could you honestly blame him for what's going on? A brief glance is given to Stadler "You expect me to just let some random people walk in here and go around biting MORE innocents? Doctors? Nurses? You'd be fine with them getting infected too? I sure as hell am not. If anyone comes in here with intentions of biting they're getting a bullet. End of story." he continues rubbing at his own goosebumps, they were growing more and more plentiful, soon his entire body felt as though goosebumps had taken over him. "Food, drinks, possibly ammo in case theres more then a few of those crazed biters out there. I recommend we keep all that stuff secure." he shakes violently and takes a few deep breaths, calming himself down. "I think theres probably an ice rink somewhere in this city. We just have to find it. We need to get this city on lockdown until we can figure out how to safely get uninfected out, then find the infected some sort of cure..so just don't get bit for now I guess?"

"This is an outbreak. We - we are livin' it." Emma says gently in her Scottish accent. There is a breath, a hand grabs at the necklace she wears. "Biggest thing is ta find a place for tha - tha people, an arena isn't bad. A place that can be locked down if we need." There is no way she sounds trilled by this. "And gettin' word out. However we can, those, good ideas." She looks to Benny, and gives a reassuring smile as if saying 'it's okay'. "We need any guards that can be offered. And a secured location." She turns to Stadler. "Emma O'Connal, intern." She introduces.

"Benjamin, but everyone calls me Benny. Well, Doc looks like your going to be pulling double duty soon because from what I can see, we'll be needing the National Guard and a whole lot more if your assessment is correct." Benny replies after introductions have been made and gives Major Richard Stadler a salute to emphasize the point. "Your doing fine, sir and right now you know more about this than most I figure. There's a hockey arena not too far from here that I think should be suitable for at least the initial phase of containment of any infected. I'll radio for additional members to assist with transport and escort, once my commanding officer gives the word after they are briefed." He looks at William and nods, "Your right. We also need to protect the people in this hospital from any further attacks or infection. In any critical incident, this hospital is going to be of central importance for treating wounded, medical supplies and reporting to CDC." He takes off his baseball cap, wiping some sweat from his brow and puts it back on his head. Looking at Emma, "Will and I can coordinate with hospital security to make sure we are on the same page and start getting check points. Can you help advise medical staff of what is going on?"

Stadler tries to keep his voice down, but it raises just a bit when he mentions shooting people. "You can't just... no one's declared martial law yet. You can't just kill someone because they might be sick. I know this is going far, but we have to... I mean, we can't start doing that without the rules being in place. State of Emergency, the President, all of that. So just... calm down. You have tasers, right?" He asks, before nodding to Emma. "It... sounds good. But no one's called me up, and that sounds like something you'd have to bring to the Mayor, or the Feds. I... I should report this, too. Umbrella employs a lot of people, here; they have to have disaster or continuity plans." He sounds slightly hopefuly about that, though there's another flash of guilt on his face. He got passed a memo about 'Corporate Extraction' a few weeks ago. He needed to find it before he went home tonight. Like, now.

"All right, then. Emma. Benny. Right." He notes, before shaking his head. "Don't saluate. It's a weekend warrior thing, and I'm in the goddamn Quartermaster's Corps. I only got into something sticky once, and I don't want to do that again. I really don't, and I don't think I'll have a choice." A check of his watch. "I'm calling it. I'm sorry, but I have to get... I have to see my family get out of here. I can't do anything unless I get them out." He notes. "I'll... Armory. All of you. If you see me again, it'll be at the armory." He notes. A quick nod, and he's moving out the door, walking quickly to the filling parking lot. Traffic was going to get bad soon, and call him a coward, but all he can think about is his family.

William nods to Benjamins introduction, before turning to Stadler "William Caldwell, I know nobodys declared martial law but I can't just let more and more people get infected, the right thing to do is put those who are infecting down so more don't have to suffer this pain." he nods "I have a taser, but I don't think it's gonna do much good, if they go down I can't just arrest them, they'll bite me." he adjusts his equipment and starts to head out "I'm going to get going and see if I can do anything about this mess..." and with that, he's gone.

"Richard...uh, Will...oh great, looks like I'm going to have to call the Sarge and coordinate with hospital security on my own..." Benny sighs and shakes his head, muttering something about hot headed stubborn rookies under his breath. He looks at Emma, taking another short deep breath. "Well, looks like it is going to be one super /long/ shift for the both of us...but I'm glad to know that you are here to share in the sleep deprivation." He manages a quick smile and then gets on his radio, "Dispatch, this is Officer Wong with S.T.A.R.S. team Charlie. Can you please get the duty NCO to call me and I'll need to contact either Sergeant Rogers or Commander Wesker directly." He glances around at all the people in the hospital, all the innocent adults, kids and elderly. He closes his eyes and thanks the stars his parents have already left for vacation and for a brief moment, gets this overwhelming feeling of being alone with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Dispatch. This is Officer Wong. Do you copy?" It's going to be a real long night indeed...